Wrestling finishes third with 3-1 record at Monon Bell Classic
By Steve Green
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. - The Ohio Northern wrestling team, led by No. 4-ranked Kyle Kwiat and Mick Letcher, put forth a strong showing, going 3-1 at the Monon Bell Classic hosted by Wabash College on Saturday in Crawfordsville.
The Polar Bears (13-10) went 3-1 on the day, as they defeated Knox (Ill.), Calumet (Ind.) before losing to Wisconsin-Platteville and finishing the day by defeating Lincoln College (Ill.).
After defeating Knox and Calumet, Northern was in position to go to the 1st-place match but lost to Platteville. The win over Lincoln gave the Polar Bears a third-place finish.
Kwiat and Letcher led the Polar Bears going 4-0 on the day, moving their season records to 25-3 and 18-4, respectively.
Northern started their day on a strong note as they rolled through Knox by a score of 43-6.
Northern's only loss against Knox came a 125, as the Polar Bear's forfeited.
Jeremy Jones got the winning started at 133, as he won an 8-0 major decision over Edel Vaca.
Garret Freeman followed with his own major decision victory, winning 13-0 over Matthew Rafacz.
Letcher earned a win by fall over Dugan O'Conner in just 26 seconds, while Jeff Sommers claimed a 9-4 decision over Casey Spencer.
Two more pins followed as Billy Painter and Kwiat had little problems against Kin Vong and Sergio Ulloa.
At 184, Matt Alexander won a 26-11 tech. fall over Alex Faulkner, and Drew Swick won by forfeit at 197.
Justin Southwick rounded out the match with a 9-1 major decision over James Wagner.
The Polar Bears had to come back to the mats right away as they were set to take on Calumet.
Northern was able to post a 30-13 victory over Calumet that placed them atop of their pool with a 2-0 record.
Northern only dropped three matches against Calumet.
Decision winners included Letcher, Sommers and Swick while Painter recorded a major decision. Jones won by forfeit, while Kwait dominated on his way to a 16-0 tech. fall. Southwick only needed 2:20 to pin Arthur Grubba and finish the match.
Northern's next task was against Wisconsin-Platteville, another pool winner, with Northern falling by a score of 13-34.
Letcher won by fall over Brad Hesebeck in 1:07, Kwait used and 11-2 major decision to defeat Cory Zuberbier, and Matt Alexander earned Northern's last win of the match by a 9-3 decision over Matt Scott.
The Polar Bears moved on to face Lincoln College (Ill.) in their last dual of the day in the third-place matchup.
Jeremy Jones notched a forfeit win to start the match off.
Letcher grabbed another win by fall, defeating Eric Celletti in two minutes.
Kwait needed less than a minute to pin Thomas Fritz.
Swick followed with his own pin, pinning Beau Callery in 4:40.
Alexander's 11-5 decision was enough for the win as the Polar Bears dispatched Lincoln 27-20.
Northern returns to action on Tuesday night as they travel to Tiffin to take on #23 ranked Heidelberg in an Ohio Athletic Conference showdown with first place atop the conference on the line. The match starts at 7:30.
Ohio Northern 43, Knox (Ill.) 6
125 -- Charley Deutsch (KC) wins by forfeit
133 -- Jeremy Jones (ONU) maj. dec. Edel Vaca, 8-0
141 -- Garrett Freeman (ONU) maj. dec. Matthew Rafacz, 13-0
149 -- Mick Letcher (ONU) pinned Dugan O'Connor, 0:26
157 -- Jeff Sommers (ONU) dec. Casey Spencer, 9-4
165 -- Billy Painter (ONU) pinned Kin Vong, 1:19
174 -- Kyle Kwiat (ONU) pinned Sergio Ulloa, 2:04
184 -- Matt Alexander (ONU) tech. fall Alex Faulkner, 6:00, 26-11
197 -- Drew Swick (ONU) wins by forfeit
285 -- Justin Southwick (ONU) maj. dec. James Wagner, 9-1
Ohio Northern 30, Calumet (Ind.) 13
125 -- Santiago Botello (CCSJ) wins by forfeit
133 -- Jeremy Jones (ONU) wins by forfeit
141 -- Nick Fouts(CCSJ) maj. dec. Garrett Freeman, 14-5
149 -- Mick Letcher (ONU) dec. Derek Allen, 11-8
157 -- Jeff Sommers (ONU) dec. Lance Surma, 3-0
165 -- Billy Painter (ONU) maj. dec. Anthony Antonietti, 16-2
174 -- Kyle Kwiat (ONU) tech. fall Jack France, 3:00, 16-0
184 -- Daniel Bedoy (CCSJ) dec. Matt Alexander, 7-3
197 -- Drew Swick (ONU) dec. Dustin Boyd, 3-1
285 -- Justin Southwick (ONU) pinned Arthur Grubba, 2:20
Ohio Northern 13, Wisconsin-Platteville 34
125 -- Allan Fish (UWP) wins by forfeit
133 -- Ross George (UWP) dec. Jeremy Jones, 5-3
141 -- Andy Casper (UWP) maj. dec. Garrett Freeman, 10-2
149 -- Mick Letcher (ONU) pinned Brad Hesebeck, 1:07
157 -- Jesse Milks (UWP) pinned Jeff Sommers, 1:37
165 -- Vincent Alber (UWP) pinned Billy Painter, 3:56
174 -- Kyle Kwiat (ONU) maj. dec. Cory Zuberbier, 11-2
184 -- Matt Alexander (ONU) dec. Matt Scott, 9-3
197 -- Brad Zellner (UWP) wins by forfeit
285 -- Tyler Manning (UWP) dec. Justin Southwick, 5-2
Ohio Northern 27, Lincoln (Ill.) 20
125 -- Jurane Culbreath (LC) wins by forfeit
133 -- Jeremy Jones (ONU) wins by forfeit
141 -- DaMonte Riley (LC) maj. dec. Garrett Freeman, 21-8
149 -- Mick Letcher (ONU) pinned Eric Celletti, 2:00
157 -- Bryce Lumzy (LC) dec. Jeff Sommers, 7-1
165 -- James Haywood (LC) maj. dec. Billy Painter, 9-1
174 -- Kyle Kwiat (ONU) pinned Thomas Fritz, 0:55
184 -- Drew Swick (ONU) pinned Beau Callery, 4:40
197 -- Matt Alexander (ONU) dec. Fred Moses, 11-5
285 -- Corey Anderson (LC) dec. Justin Southwick, 5-3